Worldwide
by Twilight Titan
Summary: Raven and Beast Boy had recently started a new relationship when Beast Boy got called away to help the Doom Patrol with a mission in Tokyo. Long distance relationships are hard, but Beast Boy and Raven are managing it, even while on opposite sides of the world. One-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

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Raven groaned and rolled towards the sound of her chirping communicator. She sighed and opened her eyes, glancing at the alarm clock on her nightstand: 3:49 am. Raven pulled a hand from underneath the warm comfort of her blanket and grabbed the loud communicator. She didn't even have to look at the name on the caller ID. She knew there was only one person who could be calling her at this time of night.

Slightly irritated, Raven huffed, sat up in her bed, flicked on the lamp on her bedside table, and flipped open the device. Despite her displeasure at being woken up from her slumber after hours of tossing and turning, Raven smiled at the person on the screen. Beast Boy looked tired and haggard, with bags underneath his forest green eyes and a noticeable slump to his strong, broad shoulders. His eyes lit up as he looked at her and a grin split onto his face for half a second before he brought a hand up to cover his mouth. Beast Boy let out a huge yawn and blinked rapidly for a few seconds, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. When his eyes seemed to refocus, he looked at Raven and beamed.

"Hey, Rae," he said to her, his eyes half lidded.

Raven frowned at his appearance. He looked exhausted. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were wrinkled and torn in some places, and he had minor cuts and bruises across his face and arms. He had one particularly nasty gash on the back of his right arm which looked like it might become infected. He seemed to be trying to hide that wound from her, as he kept his arm pressed tightly to his side, and the cut out of her view. Raven imagined he had other injuries on the lower half of his body, but they were out of the sight of the camera on the communicator.

"Beast Boy," Raven began, the annoyance clear in her voice, "when was the last time you slept? You look like you were run over by a truck and-"

"Rae, before you start to scold me again," he cut her off with a roll of his eyes, "tell me something."

"Tell you what?" she snapped.

"How was your day?" he asked, unruffled by her attitude.

"My day?" Raven incredulously repeated. "You want to know about my day? I haven't heard from you in over forty-eight hours, and I had to learn from Robin that the Doom Patrol was infiltrating one of General Immortus's hideouts this morning. I was worried that something had happened to you, and clearly, something did happen to you. You can barely stay awake while sitting up. You're beaten up and you look like death. I could hardly sleep because I was so worried about you. So, obviously, this wasn't exactly the best day of my life."

Beast Boy frowned at her. The expression looked out of place on his normally happy face. He suddenly appeared much older than his age of twenty-two years old. Almost wiser, somehow. Raven felt a rare, sudden pang of guilt at speaking so sharply to him.

Beast Boy breathed in a deep breath before blowing it out slowly. He brought his left hand up and rubbed his face and then let his hand drop back to his lap.

"I'm so sorry, Rae," he apologized to her. Then Beast Boy looked away from the screen and an annoyed expression overtook his features. "Mento's been driving me crazy over the past couple of days. He's been making us train and plan and get ready for the mission. We haven't been able to sleep, he gave us very little time to eat, and he didn't give me any down time to call you. He was drilling me with the most basic attack patterns. Like, dude, it's not like I've been a superhero for years or anything."

He suddenly shook his head, as if remembering where he was, and concentrated directly at the screen of the communicator. He was staring right into Raven's eyes. "But… none of that is any excuse. I know you've been worried. I wish I could've called or something. I just wanted to ask how your day was 'cause when I finally got a chance to call you I didn't want to talk about superhero stuff. I just wanted to talk about you and me. I miss being able to walk into your room and annoy you. I miss being by your side every day. I know it's only been three months since I left, but I miss you. A lot."

Raven felt any residual anger evaporate from her body in a second. She immediately felt terrible for snapping at him. She hadn't known that everything was so hard on him, but she should have guessed as much. Mento always was extremely tough to please, and, in Raven's opinion, far too strict with Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy," Raven said softly, "I'm sorry. I should have known how difficult everything has been for you. I miss you, too. It's not really my thing to express emotions, as you are well aware, but it's true. I miss you more and more each day, but you know that if I could come to Tokyo, I would."

Beast Boy's eyes lit up infinitesimally, making them a brighter shade of green, and his shoulders straightened. A large grin broke out on his face. "That's awesome to hear, Rae. I thought maybe you weren't having as tough a time as I was with this long-distance thing. And I know you'd come to Tokyo, but after what happened last time, we just can't risk it."

Raven nodded at him and shuddered as she recalled the time about two weeks after Beast Boy went to Tokyo. Mento had strictly forbade Beast Boy for leaving for any length of time to visit Raven, so she had gone to visit him. In the time that she was away, the rest of the team, as they were down two members, could hardly handle a nasty fight with Cinderblock. After Starfire sustained a horrible laceration across her left thigh, Cyborg had to be entirely rebooted, and Robin ended up with three broken bones, Raven and Beast Boy decided it would be best if she didn't chance going to visit him anymore.

"I'm sorry I woke you up in the middle of the night, though," he said suddenly, pulling her from her reverie, "It's just that I couldn't go to sleep without saying goodnight to you first. There's just something about the sound of your voice that can calm me down like that," he snapped his fingers.

Raven blinked at his words for a second before she felt her face heat up in a slight blush. Had she been wearing her cloak instead of her pajamas, she would have pulled the hood up. Raven instead hid her reaction to his sentimentality by smirking and asking him, "When did you become such a romantic?"

"Well, we've been dating for, what?" he paused to count on his fingers, "Eight months now? Including the months that I've been in Tokyo, of course. I have to be romantic if I want to keep you from dumping me and finding another hunk to date."

Raven rolled her eyes and, instead of pointing out the fact that only a green shapeshifter could possibly be attracted to a half-demon, asked, "How is Tokyo, by the way? You haven't told me much about it. Are the girls still crazy about you over there?"

Raven tried to play the question off as nonchalantly as possible, but she knew he saw through it.

"Jealous, are we, Raven? Huh, I never thought I'd see the day when you would be jealous of some average school girls," he wiggled his eyebrows at her playfully. She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off saying, "Truthfully, I haven't seen that much of Tokyo this time, which is fine by me. I got to see enough of the city when we were saving it from Brushogun all those years ago. I guess it would be okay if I could do some sight-seeing instead of protecting the city again. Tokyo is nice, but I can't wait to finally kick General Immortus's ass and come home. We made some great headway today, because we took down this hideout. We have one more we have to take out, and then I'll be home. I think it'll only take another couple of weeks."

He paused and threw Raven a crooked smile. "Plus, the girls in Jump City are way cuter than the girls here. In fact, I can think of one totally hot chick in Jump that I would trade all of the girls in Tokyo for."

Raven, though she probably should have been reassured by his words, sighed and frowned. She looked away from the camera, contemplating his compliment.

She couldn't help herself, she turned back to face him and said, "Okay, but that doesn't answer my question."

She felt petty and insecure at even thinking the question, but she needed him to be straight with her. At Beast Boy's raised eyebrow prompting her to continue she asked, "Do the girls in Tokyo still throw themselves all over you? You're very popular over there. It would be so easy for you to completely forget my name and pick one, or several, of the million pretty girls who know your name to spend your time with instead of waiting to come back to me."

Beast Boy seemed to lose some of his exhaustion at Raven's remark. His eyebrows shot up into his hairline in surprise, and Raven suddenly felt embarrassed at having asked him that in such an apprehensive manner. It wasn't like her to be completely lacking in self-confidence and be so unsure of herself. She knew it was a silly thing to ask. Beast Boy was nothing if not faithful. Still, maybe it was the distance, or the lack of communication over the past few days, but Raven felt she needed a little reassurance. She pulled her knees up higher on the bed and propped the communicator against them so that she could free both her hands. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

Beast Boy continued to stare at Raven incredulously for a few more seconds before he burst out laughing. Raven felt her ire rise as he laughed at her. She just expressed her feelings to him and instead of quelling her fears, he makes fun of her for it.

Enraged, Raven hissed, "Yes, Beast Boy, I understand that it is so humorous to see me in such a vulnerable state, but-"

Beast Boy immediately sobered at having drawn out Raven's anger, and began waving a hand in front of his face, and shaking his head. "No, no, no, Rae, you don't understand. I'm laughing because that thought is one hundred percent crazy."

Raven narrowed her eyes at the changeling.

"So, I'm crazy now?"

Beast Boy gulped. His eyes bugged out of his head in a way that Raven would have found funny if she wasn't fuming. He spoke slowly in order to give himself time to arrange his words in such a way that would not upset her again. "No, you're not crazy. I just can't believe that you would think I would ever pick another girl over you. Rae, you're insanely hot. And you're smart, and you can make me laugh with your unique sense of humor, and you're so strong. You're the strongest person I've ever met. That doesn't even begin to cover all of the things I like about you, but believe me when I say that you're like the total package. Beauty and brains, babe. Any dude would kill to have that, and I'm lucky enough to have that already. I'm not giving that up for anything."

Raven didn't even attempt to hide the blush that took over her face at Beast Boy's speech. Raven learned in the months that she had been dating Beast Boy that he was very attuned to how she was feeling. If she needed to hear him voice the traits that he appreciated in her because she was feeling insecure, he would do so with very little to no prompting. He just always seemed to want to make her feel better about herself. Raven didn't take that for granted, though. She knew that Beast Boy was one of a kind, especially with the green skin, and not all men would try so hard to boost their significant other's confidence. She also knew she would do the same for him in a heartbeat. Raven smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy. It's just so difficult to be away from you all of the time. I constantly wonder if you are out with some other girl or if you are having a great time being away from me. I worry incessantly about your well-being. This is a lot of expressing for me, but I want to get this out before resentments build up. Or before I'm better rested and my judgement kicks in and tells me to stop sounding so petty and timid, whichever comes first."

Raven sat up completely and grabbed the communicator in both hands, speaking directly into the camera, holding eye contact with Beast Boy. "I don't like having to always worry about you. I always worry that the last time I spoke to you would be the last time I would ever get to speak with you. I worry that you're hurt and I'm not there to heal you. I wish that you would be next door in your bedroom, or playing video games in the common room, or fighting against villains with us. Instead, you're across the world in Tokyo. And who knows where you'll be next! If the Doom Patrol had to travel to Paris or London, you'd go with them if they needed you. I love that about you, that you're so willing to protect everyone, but I miss having you here. Sometimes I think it might be easier if…" she trailed off, looking down sadly.

"If what, Rae?" Beast Boy demanded with a slight hint of anger in his voice. "If we broke up? Is that what you want? I know that's not what I want. Yeah, it's difficult right now. And I know that when things get difficult for you, you run from them and hole up in your room. So if that's what you want- to run and hide because things got a little too rough for you- then be my guest. But I'm not giving up on us."

Raven refused to look back at the screen when she felt the tell-tale burn in the back of her throat that signified tears. She was slightly astonished that she was close to allowing tears to spill over. Showing emotion wasn't something she normally did. Hell, in this conversation alone she had probably shown more emotion than she had in the last four months. She felt she owed it to Beast Boy, though, to tell him exactly how she was feeling.

Raven was now feeling emotionally drained. She hardly ever spoke that sincerely for that amount of time. The lack of sarcasm in her explanation was out of character for her, but she needed Beast Boy to understand that this was hard for her, too. Before they had started dating, Raven would have never allowed that amount of emotion to be displayed, but Beast Boy had told her about a month into her relationship that if she wanted this to work, she would have to work on being able to tell him how she was feeling.

He had helped her over the past eight months to open up to him emotionally. He also knew how to read her and could tell when she wasn't being completely honest about her mood. He could normally convince her to be utterly truthful about whatever she wanted to keep hidden. It wasn't that she wanted to keep him in the dark about things, instead she was raised to preserve her emotions so that no one could use them against her or cause her powers to run amuck. However, she trusted her boyfriend completely, and that, coupled with the fact that she had matured as she had aged and gained much more control over her powers, allowed her to be much more vulnerable emotionally than she had been in her teen years, especially with Beast Boy.

Raven looked back at the tiny screen on the tiny communicator and saw the anger slowly fade out of Beast Boy's features. She didn't know what expression she had on her face, but it must have been very expressive, for her at least, because his shoulders sagged and his face looked apologetic. Raven stiffened in shock as she felt a lone tear begin to stream down the right side of her face. She hastily wiped it away.

"Aww, Rae, don't cry," Beast Boy moaned, "I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it. I just don't think before I open my mouth sometimes."

"But it's true," Raven answered him, whispering. "I do think about breaking up sometimes. Not because I don't love you. I do love you," Raven added quickly when Beast Boy immediately looked crestfallen, "But I think about it because I don't want to hold you back from anything. While you're away, if you found a girl you liked, I wouldn't want to keep you from her. I'd want you to be happy. And I know I can't be the source of your happiness right now when we're thousands of miles away from each other. I don't want to run and hide from our relationship because it's getting tough, but I also don't want to make you resent me for keeping you tied down, either."

Beast Boy smiled and shook his head back and forth at her. "Raven, whether you're here in Tokyo with me, or thousands of miles away, you are my happiness. Don't you get it? It doesn't matter where I go with the Doom Patrol because you're the only girl on my mind. There couldn't ever be another girl that I wanted because I'm never looking at them. I'm always thinking about you. Always. But I need you to believe in what I'm saying, because it's true. I know some other dudes might look around while they're away from their girl, but not this dude." He jabbed a thumb at his chest.

"Okay, Beast Boy," Raven let a small smile grace her lips, "I believe you. And just so you know, before you're the one getting insecure, I only go for green shapeshifters."

Beast Boy chuckled and started rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "So… we're good?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Beast Boy. We're good."

He let out a relieved sigh. "Great. I love you, Rae."

Raven chuckled at him. "I love you, too, Beast Boy. In fact, I love you so much that I'm not even going to yell at you when I demand that you go get that cut your arm checked out as soon as possible. It could be infected, moron."

Raven rolled her eyes lovingly at him as he sputtered, "Uh, w-what cut?" He hastily pulled his right hand from his neck and pressed his arm to his side again. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a cut."

"Beast Boy," Raven said warningly, "I may not be close enough to you to empathically read your emotions, but I can still tell when you're lying."

Beast Boy grinned sheepishly at her and then dramatically lifted his arm before pointing exaggeratedly at his wound. "Oh! That cut!"

"Yes," Raven deadpanned while still amused, "that cut."

"I will take care of it," he promised her, dropping the act, and becoming serious. "I just was hoping you wouldn't see it before I could get it cleaned. I didn't want to worry you more. Plus, I wanted to talk to you before I got this cleaned and then passed out."

"That's understandable. I wanted to see you, too. Just don't neglect it."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few seconds, simply looking at each other and smiling. Beast Boy, as per usual, was the one who broke the silence when he remarked, "You know, Rae, everything considered, I think we're doing a pretty good job with this long-distance thing," At her skeptical face he added, "Yeah, I know we had a little fight tonight, but it's the first time in three months we've had trouble. I'll be home soon and then we'll pick up right where we left off. And we'll be stronger as a couple because of it."

Raven smirked. "That sounds nice. I can't wait for you to get back. I may even throw you a party."

Beast Boy mocked gasped. "What?! You? Throw a party? Impossible."

"Yeah, I don't think it'll actually happen, but it was an intriguing thought."

"Maybe just a party for the fact that the rest of the team lost the bet, then," he laughed.

"What? You knew about that?" Raven was slightly upset.

"Of course I knew about it. Cyborg called the day after I left and asked me if I wanted to be in the pool. I couldn't pass that up, especially when I knew I was going to win."

"Cyborg had his money on us giving up after two and a half months. I guess we proved him wrong," Raven pointed out, amused. "It was nice of Starfire, though, to not partake in the childish bet. Unlike you, who bet that we'd last how long?" Raven asked, waving her hand in a motion for him to continue.

"I told them we wouldn't break up," he said proudly, puffing out his chest at her. "I knew it would be hard, but I was positive we could do it, because I had faith in us. Long-distance isn't ideal, but it's not a deal breaker, either. Although, I can't believe Robin said we would only make it a month long-distance before breaking up. I mean, newsflash, Bird-Boy, not all of us faint after just hearing the word 'commitment.'" Beast Boy's insult was half-hearted.

Raven giggled. It was a high-pitched girly sound that lasted for only a second before the noise was abruptly cut off, but it was enough to make Beast Boy look ecstatic. She immediately realized her mistake in laughing, covered her mouth with her hand, and a horrified expression played over her face. Beast Boy started pumping his fist in the air.

"Dude, you think I'm funny!" he pointed an accusing finger at Raven. She shook her head vigorously. "You just laughed! Which means that you think I'm funny, and it only took me, like, eight years to accomplish this. This is so great. Now I've got a whole list of jokes that I can try out on you because I'm hilarious, and that laugh means that you've finally admitted it to yourself."

"Beast Boy, I've admitted nothing. You don't need to try out any jokes on-"

"Hey, Rae," Beast Boy interjected, "what do you call a fake noodle?" He gave her no time to answer before he shouted, "An im _pasta_!"

"Very funny, Beast Boy," Raven said flatly as Beat Boy erupted in a hysterical laughing fit. "Maybe one of these days you can take all of the effort that you use to laugh at your own jokes and put it towards finding a joke that is actually funny."

Beast Boy remained relatively unbothered by her remark, but his laughter died down a little. He grinned at her and sarcastically said, "Ouch, Raven, you really know how to wound a man." He placed a hand over his heart.

She shook her head and him and smirked. "It's not my fault you're wounded. You seem to do a pretty stellar job with that all on your own."

He sighed and looked at her wistfully, rubbing the back of his head again. "You're right about that. But because I already have this cut on my arm, I should probably hang up soon. I don't want to, but I need to get this cleaned, I need to shower, and I have to get some rest before Mento has me up super early to do more training."

"I know you're right, but I don't want to go either. The sun will probably come up soon here. Robin's making us do drills in the morning, too."

"All right, all right. I'll let you go. The sun set a while ago here anyway, and you know I'm tired. I will be calling tomorrow, though, whether Mento says I can or not."

Raven smiled softly at him. "I'll hold you to that. Goodnight, Beast Boy. I love you."

Beast Boy grinned back at her. "Good morning, Rae," he chuckled. Then his face become more serious, yet still loving. "Just remember, you have my heart. Doesn't matter where I am, I love you. Always."

Raven smiled once more at him as he waved before she shut her communicator quietly and set it down on her nightstand. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs when a feeling of loneliness suddenly washed over her. She knew that Beast Boy would be back at the tower any day now, and she simply couldn't wait. Superheroes or not, she and Beast Boy were completely human when it came to handling long-distance relationships. They were susceptible to getting angry at one another and feeling insecure, but, also like most other couples, they always found a way to make up. They had their ups and downs as a pair, but they were supportive and understanding of each other. After knowing each other for nearly eight years and first forming a friendship, Raven was confident that their romantic relationship was solid.

Raven sat back in her bed and sighed. She knew there was no chance that she could fall asleep again tonight. Her head was filled with thoughts of her boyfriend. She sat in silence for a while until she noticed the sunlight streaming through her window and across her bed. As she looked up at the sun she wondered if Beast Boy was on the other side of the world looking at the moon at the exact same moment. As Raven got up and went to the common room to make her tea, she anticipated the morning that she and Beast Boy would have the ability to watch the sun rise together again.


End file.
